Device for washing bedpans and urinals



y 13, 1958 J. KRONISH 2,834,026

' osvrcs FOR WASHING BEDPANS AND URINALS Filed Dec. 26, 1952 IN VEN TOR.

JOSEPH KRON ISH ww w United rates Patent Office 2,834,026 Patented May13, 1358 DEVICE FOR WASHING BEDPANS AND URINALS Joseph Kronish, MountVernon, N. Y.

Application December 26, 1952, Serial No. 328,033

1 Claim. (Cl. 4-10) My invention relates to a new and improved devicefor washing bed-pans and urinals.

It has been common practice in hospitals, for many years, to provide asink or washing device for these receptacles in a central utility roomon the fioor of a hospital. This made it necessary to carry these filledreceptacles from the room of the patient to said central utility room.This is objectionable, because it produces disagreeable odors throughoutthe hospital and necessitates carrying the bedpans through corridorspast visitors; and the work is disagreeable.

It has also been the practice to provide a hose in the patients bathroom. The use of a hose to provide wash water for washing the excretainto the toilet bowl spatters the clothing of the nurse or orderly, aswell as the floor, walls and toilet seat; and objectionable odorsresults from such washing.

According to my invention, I provide a combination washing device andtoilet bowl which can be made and installed at minimum expense. Thecombined device does not require more floor space than the conventionaltoilet bowl. The improved combination device requires only a minoraddition to the conventional plumbing, which is an important feature, inorder to make it possible to make and install the device at minimumexpense and without increasing the size of the toilet room.

Other objects and advantages and features of my invention are set forthin the description and drawings herein, which show two embodiments of myinvention.

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the first embodiment. The door ofthe washing hopper or casing is shown in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal central section of Fig. 1, showing aurinal in washing position and releas ably held at the inner face of theclosed door. This embodiment shows a toilet bowl which has an S-trapsaid bowl being modified according to my invention.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal central section of a secondembodiment, showing a bed-pan in washing position, and releasably heldat the inner face of the closed door. This embodiment shows a toiletbowl which has a P-trap, said bowl being modified according to myinvention.

First embodiment, Figs. 1 and 2 This has a toilet bowl 10, whosepedestal 11 is supported on floor 12. Bowl has a rim 21. A seat S isturnably connected to bowl 10 by hinge H. This hinge H may be connectedto any part of the device.

Bowl 10 has a basin B, which has a rear overflow wall 16. The basin Bnormally has a pool of water, which has a normal top level 21a.

The ordinary toilet bowl has a top seat opening, and an imperforate topwall which is located at the rear of said top seat opening and at therear of the seat. If the ordinary toilet bowl is of the S-trap type, ithas a single lateral partition wall 31 which is integral with the rimand side walls of the bowl. The horizontal bottom edge of this ordinarysingle S-trap wall 31 is located below the horizontal level plane whichis indicated by the reference numeral 21a. When flushing water isadmitted into the ordinary S-trap bowl, said water flows over the topedge of rear wall 16 of basin B into the syphon passage 17, whose outlet13 extends through floor 12. This trap-wall 31 prevents sewer gases fromflowing from the sewer through the pool of water into the room.

According to my invention, I provide an additional hopper opening in thetop wall of the bowl rearwardly of the usual top seat opening of thebowl, and I provide the bowl with an additional integral lateralpartition wall 19, whose horizontal bottom edge is also located belowthe plane 21a. This partition wall 19 is located rearwardly of theS-trap wall 31. I thus provide said additional top washing opening ofthe bowl with a passage or conduit 22, which is open at its top andbottom, and which is closed at its sides by the side walls of the bowl.The supplemental partition wall 19 is located forwardly of the rear wall16 of basin B. This supplemental partition wall of trap wall 19 extendsbelow the outlet passage or conduit 17, and below the top of the basinpart B and hence below the top of the normal pool of Water in said basinpart B. This supplemental trap wall 19 prevents dangerous sewer gasesfrom backing up into the room through conduit 22 and through the hopper23 which is to be described shortly.

When flushing water is admitted to this modified bowl, the passages orconduits 17 and 17a provide a siphon outlet to the waste.

The washing hopper 23 is held fixed relative to bowl 10. Said hopper 23has a bottom flange 24 which is fixed to the top wall of the bowl at itssupplemental top opening, in order to provide a sealing connectionbetween the interior of hopper 23 and the passage or conduit 22. Asealing gasket or other sealing means may be used, in order to provide aliquid-tight and airtight connection between the interior space ofhopper 23 and the top wall of the bowl at the top of passage 22.

One optional shape of hopper 23 is shown in Fig. 2.

A door 33 is turnably connected to lugs 32 of the front wall 28 ofhopper 23 by a shaft 34 which is turnably mounted in said lugs 32. Saiddoor 33 optionally has a stop extension 33a which abuts the inner faceof the front wall 28, when door 33 is closed. Door 33 may have aconventional sealing gasket and it may optionally be biased to normalclosed position by a spring.

A vent-pipe 29 is optionally provided in the top wall 27 of hopper 23.

Conventional means are shown for releasably holding the bed-pan orurinal to door 33.

Laterally spaced arms 42 are fixed to the inner face of door 33, andadditional laterally spaced arms 40 are also thus fixed. These arms 42and 40 are perpendicular to the planar door 33. Arms 42 are providedwith lateral fingers 43 which extend laterally towards each other, andarms 40 are provided with similar fingers 41.

Arms 42 are longer than arms 40. p The lateral spacing between arms 42is less than the lateral spacing between arms 40. A bed-pan 45 can thusbe supported in upstanding position when door 33 is closed, as shown inFig. 3. The urinal 46 has a hook by means of which said urinal 46 may*be supported in inverted upstanding position when door 33 is closed.

Door 33 may be opened to horizontal position, and the urinal or bed-pancan then be mounted upon door 33. The door 33 is then closed, in orderto empty the contents of the receptacle into hopper 23 and throughpassage 22 into the bowl.

Optionally, the door 33 can be opened by depressing the pedal 37 of alever 35 which is pivoted at 36 to bowl 10. The cylinder 39 of aconventional dash-pot is pivoted at 39a to lever 35. The piston ofcylinder 39 has a piston rod 39b which is pivoted at 39c to an arm 38which is fixed rigidly to turnable shaft 34. When pedal 37 is depressedbelow its normal position, the air or liquid in cylinder 39 is subjectedto pressure, thus moving rod 3% upwardly, and turning door 33 to itsopen position. Lever 35 may be biased to a normal position, in whichdoor 33 is closed.

As above noted, the case and economy of installation is an importantfeature of my invention.

Fig. 1 shows a water-supply pipe 50. This is connected to branch orextension pipe 51 through an ordinary and normally closed flushing valveV. Said flushing valve V may be opened by manually operating the usualhandle 53.

Pipe 51 is connected to flushing pipe 51a and to washing pipe 52,through a conventional two-way valve VA. This two-way valve VA can beoperated by handle 54 to a washing position in which flushing pipe 51ais blocked from pipe 51 and washing pipe 52 is connected to pipe 51.This two-way valve VA can be turned to another position which is theflushing position, in which washing pipe 52 is blocked from pipe 51, andpipe 51a is connected to pipe 51.

The outlet of the flushing pipe 510 is connected to bowl 10, in order tosupply flushing water to bowl when valve V is opened and the valve VA isin the flushing position. a

The washing pipe 52 is connected to any selected number of washingnozzles which are provided in the interior of the washing hopper 23.These washing nozzles may be spray nozzles or of any type. Two washingnozzles 55 and 56 are shown as illustrations.

When it is desired to wash the receptacle, the door 33 is closed, thusemptying the receptacle by means of the bottom opening of hopper 23 andpassage 22. Valve VA is turned to the washing position. Valve V is thenopened, thus supplying water to the washing nozzles, without supplyingflushing water to the bowl through pipe 51a.

There are enough washing nozzles to thoroughly wash the interior andexterior of the receptacle and the inner wallsof the hopper 23 and door33. The wash water flows through passage 22 into basin B and said basinis emptied by the usual siphon action.

Hence, in order to install the device in the conventional waterline, itis only necessary to connect washing pipe 52 and the valve-casing ofvalve VA in the conduit 51-S1a.

The pipe 50 may be connected to supply cold water. Hot water orsterilizing steam may be admitted to the hopper 23 through conduits 51and 52 through a by-pass valve.

The vent pipe 29 may be omitted. top wall 27 of hopper 23 isimperforate.

The pedal device may be omitted, and the door 33 may be opened andclosed by hand.

The door 33 is optionally inclined rearwardly when it is closed, so thatgravity can normally hold door 33 in closed position.

In such case, the

Second embodiment, Fig. 3

The only difference from the first embodiment is that the bowl 10:: hasa modified P-trap construction. This bowl has an outlet passage orconduit 58a. The ordinary P-trap bowl has a single lateral partitionwall 57.

I provide the bowl 100: with an additional integral lateral partitionwall 58 at the rear of the supplemental opening at the top of the bowl,thus providing a passage 22a which has the same function as passage 22,and which similarly prevents dangerous sewer gas from entering the roomthrough hopper 23. In this embodiment, thewall 58 functions as the trapwall.

In each embodiment herein, there is a combination,

toilet bowl .and trap. In the first and second embodiments, the trap isan internal part of the bowl. In each of the two embodiments, the hopperis connected to a supplemental inlet opening of the combination bowl andtrap device, and said supplemental inlet opening is located rearwardlyof the main top inlet opening of the bowl.

In the first and second embodiments, the rear wall of the bowl islocated rearwardly of the respective rear depending bowl wall 19 or 58,and the respective outlet 13 or 58a is located rearwardly of the reardepending wall 19 or 58.

In the first and second embodiments, the top of each depending partitionwall is at and extends downwardly from the rim of the bowl. The top ofthe front depending wall 31 or 57 is at the rear of the main inlet topopening of the bowl, and also at the front of the rear supplemental topopening of the bowl, so that the top of said front depending wall is theseparating means between said top openings, and the top of the reardepending wall 19 or 58 is at the rear of the supplemental top rearopening.

The invention includes, as a separate feature, the improved bowl of thefirst and second embodiments.

It has been proposed, as in Salvoni U. S. Patent No. 2,075,830 datedApril 6, 1937, to provide a combination toilet bowl and bidet. However,the construction shown in this prior patent is so expensive andimpractical that it has not been put into use, due to the variousexpensive plumbing connections, and also because the bowl has a singledepending wall at the junction between the openings, said single wallbeing arched at its lower end to provide two legs, which arerespectively located forwardly and rearwardly of the rear wall of thebasin.

Also, the construction of this prior patent permits dangerous sewergases to enter the bidet and hence the room from the toilet dischargepipe.

The improved construction of the toilet bowl disclosed herein makes itpossible to make all its parts of an integral one-piece construction atminimum cost. Also, in this prior construction, the wash water was notdischarged into the pool of water which is normally maintained in a wellor recess of the bowl. In the preferred embodiments disclosed herein,the wash water is discharged into said pool of water, thus causing saidpool to overflow in the same manner as if flushing water is admitted.into the pool. The embodiments herein all include means for preventingsewer gases from entering the room from either the hopper or the toiletbowl.

Iclaim:

In combination, a toilet bowl and a vertical hopper fixed to said toiletbowl, said bowl having a top seatopening, said hopper extending upwardlyfrom the top of said bowl and being located rearwardly of saidseatopening, said bowl having an outflow passage, said hopper having acommunicating opening at its lower end which communicates with saidbowl, said bowl having an integral lateral partition trap-wall whichextends completely laterally across the inner wall of said bowl, saidpartition trap wall being at and depending from the rear of saidcommunicating opening, said partition trapwall being located in front ofsaid outflow passage and extending below the entire inlet mouth of saidoutflow passage and being proximate to the rear wall of the bowl, saidoutflow passage being located above the bottom of said bowl to provide abasin-part in said bowl which is normally filled with a pool of water,said trap- Wall extending below the top of said basin part to be locatedbelow the top of said pool, said partition trap wall being shaped andlocated to block any reverse flow of gas through said outlet passageinto said hopper or out of said bowl, said hopper having holding meansto hold a receptacle therein and having a door which can be moved toclosed position and to open position, said hopper having internalwashing means for supplying wash water to wash said receptacle, and saidcombination having supply means for supplying water to said bowl and tosaid internal washing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent 6 Kelly et al. Feb. 22, 1921Wernle Apr. 30, 1929 Zorraquin Feb. 12, 1935 Stamberger Dec. 22, 1936Salvoni Apr. 6, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Jan. 2, 1933Switzerland Aug. 2, 1939

